Hoping to inspire and encourage those interested in drawing or painting to have-a-go.

Monday, 30 November 2015

Ink & Coloured Pencils

As I sat watching television a few evenings ago I drew this Robin in my sketchbook using Pen & Ink. I wanted to see if I could demonstrate it was a Robin just by tonal values alone. There is hardly any difference between the tonal values of his red breast and his brown feathers when viewed in greyscale so I tried to exaggerate the tones in my drawing but it didn't work too well.

Dissatisfied with the result and thinking he didn't really look like a Robin I decided to add some colour using coloured pencils. I liked this effect very much and I think that is probably because the ink drawing was a finished piece in it's own right, rather than just the preliminary stage of something more. This became more apparent when I drew the Chaffinch and Blue Tit. They don't work as well, in my opinion, because they have much less ink detail which is probably because I was well aware at the ink stage that colour was too follow.

I liked the effect of the Ink with Coloured Pencil so much that I went back to a couple of previous pen drawings and added colour to them in the same way. Though I always like them in their original ink form (yes, I actually said "I liked them" lol) I have to say that I like them even more with the added colour. Oh, I didn't risk ruining the original pen drawings as I printed them out and worked on the copies. This is definitely a mixed media that I will work with again.

I know what you mean about trying to make a robin look like a robin in grey-scale. I recently painted a trio of birds, but before I did them in paint, I did some pencil sketches first. You can see them here if you're interested... http://www.sketch-mad.com/2015/10/the-dawn-chorus-part-1.html ... It worked okay but I think it is far easier in pencil than in pen! I love all of your birds, but also those beautiful houses - one of which was in 'The Haywain', right? Beautiful! :0)

It was interesting looking at your Robin Sandra and I see where I could have improved mine. Thank you very much. And yes, the last picture is of Willy Lotts Cottage made famous for being included in 'The Haywain'.

With or without color your work is stunning John ! The buildings below were fabulous already in black/white , but with a bit of color they came even more to life . And the robin is spot on , my favorite little visitor in my garden !

I hadn't realised you had once worked like this Keith ... I can't imagine you doing anything other than your outstanding watercolour landscapes. I think it's time I dabbled with watercolours again ... I can't stay with one medium for too long. LOL.

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About Me

I am just an ordinary, happily married, working guy. A few years ago, in my mid-fifties, I was given a book about watercolours for beginners and a basic set of paints. And so it began. Wanting to get some feedback on my paintings I turned to the internet and then, finding little suitable for the beginner, I started my own site. Art, painting, site design, html, php, css ... one way or another it's been a fabulous learning curve and several years later I still consider myself a raw beginner.